Delmon suspended

The International League gave Delmon Young a 50-game suspension for hitting an umpire with a thrown bat last month.

Young won't play again until June 19, though he'll work out at Tampa Bay's minor-league complex in St. Petersburg. Young also will perform 50 hours of community service with inner-city children in Durham, N.C., and handicapped youth in St. Petersburg.

Delmon is an intense player, but hopefully this will curtail any further outbursts like the one April 26. Hopefully, he'll embrace the community service and not count the minutes until he's finished with it. Hopefully, he won't give the hecklers any new ammunition.

His brother Dmitri also had a long minor-league suspension and has become a major-league star popular with fans and media. Dmitri was suspended for 20 games after going into the stands after a heckler while he played in the Class AA Texas League. (Thanks go to Advertiser correspondent Wesley Lyle for finding that in the microfilm, but if you need online proof -- http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStory.asp?ID=060430_Sp_B5_Rocki38959_0, third item)

The bat throw is something that will follow Delmon long after his major-league debut. I know Delmon doesn't like being compared to his brother, but hopefully Delmon will react positively, like his brother, to it.